


caine, take the wheel

by monstermash



Series: caine, take the wheel [3]
Category: Vampire: The Masquerade – Bloodlines (Video Game)
Genre: Gen, Like, and the relationship is kinda background and not necessarily the main focus, it gets mentioned once, this almost completely nothing but dialogue, this is going off of "the cab driver is caine", very short fic
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-08-29
Updated: 2018-08-29
Packaged: 2019-07-04 01:56:14
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 794
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15831393
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/monstermash/pseuds/monstermash
Summary: There’s a harsh downpour in Santa Monica as he sits and waits behind the steering wheel.A storm of a different kind is brewing and coming to a head and he’s in the eye of the hurricane, so to speak.





	caine, take the wheel

**Author's Note:**

> been meaning to get around to writing this, but life and new games got in the way (and again, most of my info outside of Bloodlines comes from the vtmb wiki, so my bad if anything is wrong). this takes place during ch4 of 'one door closes, another door opens'

There’s a harsh downpour in Santa Monica as he sits and waits behind the steering wheel.

A storm of a different kind is brewing and coming to a head and he’s in the eye of the hurricane, so to speak.

He hears the fledgling long before he sees him, sprinting down the street towards his parked taxi and diving in through the open window, landing on the backseat.

“Where to?” he asks as he turns the key over and the engine comes to life.

“Away,” comes the tired answer from the backseat, making him chuckle.

“Very well.”

After all, _away_ is the best place to be during a blood hunt.

\---

It isn’t until they’ve been on the highway for a few minutes that the fledgling finally sits up, staring at their reflections in the rearview mirror, mismatched eyes fixed on the eyes obscured by dark tinted sunglasses.

“Where are you taking us?”

There’s suspicion in the fledgling’s gaze and it makes him chuckle again.

“I’m just a driver. It’s up to you to figure out where you want to be taken.”

Suspicion gives way to understanding, heterochromatic eyes going distant, unseeing of the reality around them and listening to the whispers only descendants of Malkav can hear.

“But you’ve made that mistake before,” the fledgling says, not even bothering trying to at least make it sound like a question. The look in his eyes reminds him of Malkav in some ways. “An offering and a slight, stained in red, all revolving around blood… But whose? A never ending cycle, an Ouroboros in motion. Lovers names lost in the ash of the sun, a love not returned until tricked, an ivory throne lost beneath the salt fields and waiting. Everything comes in three; don’t bet on this horse, it has a terrible track record.”

“Yes,” he grits out, forcing his fingers to relax on the wheel.

“I’ve heard of Jesus taking the wheel, but what about Caine?”

“What about Caine indeed, Andy.”

Andy’s head tilts as he looks at him, still staring through the mirror. 

“The wheel spins and spins, destination unknown, a war of numbers. The third killed the second, burning because they could, you should’ve hired a babysitter. Dreams that are far too real, copper on the tongue, lavender on the eyes, she waited and the flowers withered on the stem. The arrow spins, faster and faster, a fire, a dark star, the final daughter making her decision—too much, too much!” 

He watches as Andy gasps in pain, lucidity returning to his eyes as the fledgling’s nails dig into the leather material of the seat, ripping the seams.

“There is something troubling you?” he asks, well aware of what this child of Malkav has seen.

“You know… you know… don’t you?” Andy’s eyes are far too clear. “They’ll burn him… They’ll try to and after that there’ll be no turning back, no changing the tide. Too far gone, the compass will lose direction.”

“In your voice, there is desperation… certainly there is an exit out of your predicament?” he asks. The lights from the street lamps that line the highway continually bathe the car in light before fading away into the dark again as they drive further along. “The anarchs have tried to hold onto this city like it was an ocean, but it continually seeps from their fingers as more and more of them are eaten by sharks. Do you really believe they can keep predators away forever?”

The hopelessness and devastation of whatever it is the fledgling saw slips away, replaced with a fierce determination and a fire in his eyes as he leans closer to the front seats. “It doesn’t need to be forever, just long enough. Lines in the sand changing ever so slightly. I will _not_ let him burn.”

He glances up at the mirror before pulling onto the exit ramp. “If the anarchs managed to recapture this city, it would not be long before someone challenged them for it. Conflict is always an eventuality in their life. Could you really spend an eternity this way? Constantly fighting fires for him?”

_“Yes,”_ the fledgling answers without hesitation. “We will fight the fires. Together.” 

He hums as he brings the taxi to a stop in front of the hotel the leader of the anarchs has been holed up in.

“The anarchs have lost less than is thought. I hear there is one left who may be able to revitalize the movement. Maybe, though, it is just a rumor.”

“We’ll hold a dance on the ashes of our enemies,” Andy says as he gets out of the car and heads toward the hotel. The fledgling pauses and looks back at him. “Oh, and Caine…” 

He waits.

“Learn to duck.”

**Author's Note:**

> y'all can find me [here](http://edmunderson.tumblr.com/) if you wanna talk about vtmb or anything really lmao


End file.
